Paret reportedly patted Griffith's behind at the weigh-in and called him a maricon - Spanish for ******.

It was pretty well documented that Paret had been taunting Griffiths in this manner since their prior fight. Considering that Griffiths probably was closeted, the already potent insult would have been even more intense.

Paret had previously taken a beating from (MW) Gene Fullmer and this might well have been a factor.

Paret is said to have touched Griffith's backside and called him "maricon" at the weigh-in. At that point, Emile's trainer, Gil Clancy told him to save it for the Ring. The Ref, Ruby Goldstein (The Jewel of the Ghetto) never refereered again.